Various types of suspension seating arrangements are well known. Typically, such arrangements provide a flexible suspension member that it tensioned between two or more support members. The suspension member may directly support the body of the user, or may be covered by a fabric layer. Due to the linear nature of the tension vectors applied in such suspension members, such arrangements are generally not suitable for seating systems providing orthogonal back supports, and do not provide any transitional support between such supports.
In addition, the support members typically provide a “hard” point at the side edge of the seating arrangement. As such, any configuration wherein such seating arrangements are positioned adjacent one another provides intermittent hard points that limit the comfort and use of the configuration.
In another aspect, office “side” chairs are typically configured with a pair of armrests, or no armrests. In either case, the office chair, if associated with a worksurface, such as a desk, must either be moved by the user to gain proximity to the worksurface, wherein the user may be trapped by the armrests, or in the absence of such arms fails to provide any support for the user's arms when situated by a worksurface. Moreover, the upper surfaces of armrests, when so configured, typically do not mate with or transition to the worksurface, thereby leading to pinch points, uneven surfaces and/or other obstacles.
Besides not being suitable for use with a worksurface, such office chairs may also not be suitable for modular use, for example to provide various community seating configurations.